Review of “A Girl Named Bright,” a short story by Veronica Viscardi

According to Fantastic Stories of the Imagination this is Ms. Viscardi’s first published story. That’s very impressive, because this was an exceptionally touching story. It’s basically a journal log by a young girl named Bree while she’s on a journey to a colony in another solar system.

I appreciate any story brave enough to base it’s entire premise around Time Dilation Theory. It’s such a fascinating concept, and one which most science fiction books can’t really delve into due to storytelling concerns. Here, thanks to relativity, a one year journey to Proxima Centauri equals one hundred years back on Earth. That means that while Bree is ten when she says goodbye to her best friend Adie, by the time she arrives Adie will be one hundred years older.

The journal entries mostly track Bree’s conversations with Adie as she goes through the ups and downs of living an entire life while Bree stays the same age. It’s heartbreaking in a sense, but also quite inspiring. As old as Adie gets, she never forgets about her best childhood friend. I think that’s something we can all relate to, and to play it out across light years makes this a wonderfully unique story.